GLASS put out for recycling in Powys is to be transformed for use in the fibreglass industry or melted down after a new contract was awarded for its processing.

Powys County Council is one of four authorities around Wales, along with Torfaen, Cardiff and Newport, to agree new contracts with glass recycling Recresco.

The contracts will see Recresco sorting and processing mixed glass from local commercial and residential kerbside collections at its Cwmbran and Ellesmere Port depots.

It will then be used at Torfaen-based Knauf Insulation for the manufacture of fibreglass for the construction industry and Cheshire-based Encirc for remelt into new glass bottles and containers.

The four Welsh contracts will see a combined total of more than 18,000 tonnes of bottle glass go through Recresco facilities, of which about 4,200 tonnes will come from Powys each year.

Recresco, which is headquartered in Nottingham, claims to have some of the most advanced glass recycling facilities in the UK.

Recresco business development manager Fraser Macintyre said: “We are proud to work with councils to support local and regional economies. By recycling glass, we can help councils meet their circular economy goals, reducing carbon emissions and keeping glass out of landfill.

“At Recresco, we use the latest glass sorting technology resulting in high quality recycled product and minimum waste.

“Collected glass will be processed and sorted at both of our facilities in Cwmbran and Ellesmere Port for use at Knauf Insulation, a large employer in the Torfaen region, and Encirc for the manufacture of new glass bottles and containers. We look forward to working with Torfaen, Powys, Cardiff and Newport and to assisting with waste management services in these communities."